Technologies

I Wore Razer’s Project Motoko: Like Smart Glasses, but in Headphone Form

I wore camera-enabled over-ear headphones that tap into AI. Razer says they’re going to be an actual product someday. It’s not as weird as you’d think. Or maybe it is.

I’ve been down this road before: I look at something in front of me, snap a photo and ask AI services for advice about what I’m looking at. I’ve done it with Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses and countless others, but this time I was wearing a pair of over-ear headphones with a camera in each cup at Razer’s CES 2026 demo suite.

Project Motoko is Razer’s latest wild stab at new gaming tech at this year’s CES, but it’s actually not as wild as I expected. I mean that in a good way. Motoko is meant to be worn while gaming, or doing anything else. Why these over smart glasses? You don’t have to deal with wearing glasses at all, and the promised battery life with AI-connected services switched on is 36 hours. That’s way beyond what any pair of smart glasses I’ve worn can do.

The headphones use a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip inside, although I wasn’t told which one. It’s something that will likely change when this idea becomes an actual product. And reps at Razer I spoke to say that’s definitely happening, at some point, at a price that would be competitive with smart glasses. Right now, Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses start at around $300.

There are dual Sony 4K 12MP cameras on Project Motoko, good enough for photos or video (although how good they’d look, I don’t know). I also don’t know how good Motoko sounds as headphones, since my demo was entirely focused on using the microphones to ask AI questions while a nearby speaker broadcast the answers.

Motoko could connect to a PC or a future mobile app, and the plan is to make the headphones AI-agnostic, plugging into whatever platform you want. That’s another advantage they have over current smart glasses, which generally funnel you to one AI service.

I’m glad I checked these out, because I don’t think this will be the last time I wear headphones with cameras in them. Qualcomm is often a harbinger of new tech products to come, and a lot more people wear headphones than glasses. It’s likely a sign of what could come next in the ongoing wave of camera-enabled AI wearables. Now I’m wondering when we’ll see this technology in earbuds.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 7, #941

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 7, #941

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is rather tricky. The purple category is especially mystifying. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Lookalikes.

Green group hint: Part of something.

Blue group hint: National symbol.

Purple group hint: Squish down.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Doppelgänger.

Green group: Portion.

Blue group: Common flag symbols.

Purple group: Pressed using a press.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is doppelgänger. The four answers are clone, double, mirror and ringer.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is portion. The four answers are concern, interest, share and stake.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is common flag symbols. The four answers are crescent, cross, star and stripe.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is pressed using a press. The four answers are cider, garlic, trousers and wine.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 7 #675

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 7, No. 675.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is easier than some have been. Once you learn the topic, the words come pretty easily. But if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Open wide.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Brace face.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

MIST, SOIL, RICE, LICE, RUDE, LUDE, BRUSH, TOOT, RIDE, RIDER

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

DRILL, FLOSS, MIRROR, FLUORIDE, TOOTHBRUSH

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is DENTISTSOFFICE. To find it, start with the D that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind up and then across.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.